Voted #21 Worlds Best Restaurants 2017Publication: November 2008A pioneer in American cuisine, chef Grant Achatz represents the best of the molecular gastronomy movement--brilliant fundamentals and exquisite taste paired with a groundbreaking approach to new techniques and equipment. ALINEA showcases Achatz's cuisine with more than 100 dishes (totaling 600 recipes) and 600 photographs presented in a deluxe volume. Three feature pieces frame the book: Michael Ruhlman considers Alinea's role in the global dining scene, Jeffrey Steingarten offers his distinctive take on dining at the restaurant, and Mark McClusky explores the role of technology in the Alinea kitchen. Buyers of the book will receive access to a website featuring video demonstrations, interviews, and an online forum that allows readers to interact with Achatz and his team.

In this enormous, beautiful book, we hear the full story of the meteoric rise of Heston Blumenthal and The Fat Duck, birthplace of snail porridge and bacon-and-egg ice cream, and encounter the passion, perfection and weird science behind the man and the restaurant. Heston Blumenthal is widely acknowledged to be a genius, and The Fat Duck has twice been voted the Best Restaurant in the World by a peer group of top chefs.But he is entirely self-taught, and the story of his restaurant has broken every rule in the book. His success has been borne out of his pure obsession, endless invention and a childish curiosity into how things work - whether it's how smell affects taste, what different flavours mean to us on a biological level, or how temperature is distributed in the centre of a souffle.With an introduction by Harold McGee, incredible colour photographs throughout, illustrations by Dave McKean, multiple ribbons, real cloth binding and a gorgeous slip case, The Big Fat Duck Cookbook

An internationally renowned chemist, popular television personality, and bestselling author, Herve This heads the first laboratory devoted to molecular gastronomy--the scientific exploration of cooking and eating. By testing recipes that have guided cooks for centuries, and the various dictums and maxims on which they depend, Herve This unites the head with the hand in order to defend and transform culinary practice.With this new book, Herve This's scientific project enters an exciting new phase. Considering the preparation of six bistro favorites--hard-boiled egg with mayonnaise, simple consomm?, leg of lamb with green beans, steak with French fries, lemon meringue pie, and chocolate mousse--he isolates the exact chemical properties that tickle our senses and stimulate our appetites. More important, he connects the mind and the stomach, identifying methods of culinary construction that appeal to our memories, intelligence, and creativity. By showing that the creation of a meal is as satisfying as its consumption, Herve This recalibrates the balance between food and our imaginations. The result is a revolutionary perspective that will tempt even the most casual cooks to greater flights of experimentation.

Publication Date: December 2016Sous vide cooking is the latest trend in home kitchens. Because of their cost and size, sous vide cooking devices were once found only in professional kitchens, but that all changed when affordable models hit the retail market. Home cooks are now embracing sous vide in record numbers. In sous vide cooking, food is sealed in plastic bags and submerged in hot (but not boiling) water for long and slow cooking. The end result is food which is juicy and tender. Cooking sous vide also means that temperatures can be maintained within tenths of a degree, which is essential for certain cuts of meat. The hot water also intensifies favors and the resulting texture of the food is perfect. Chris McDonald is a brilliant chef who has long used sous vide to create sublime dishes and he now brings this expertise to the home cook. His recipes are spectacularly delicious yet easy to execute. Eight pages of step-by-step photos provide all the necessary information to start sous vide cooking. AUTHOR: Chris McDonald is an acclaimed chef and former restaurant owner in Toronto, Canada. His fair and appreciation of international foods makes him a hugely respected figure in food circles. He is also an esteemed cooking instructor. 16 coloured pages

Sous Vide (which is French for "under vacuum") is the process of cooking foods, like meats and vegetables, in sealed bags submerged in a water bath that is maintained at a constant temperature. The result is food that is cooked nearly perfectly because of precise temperature control that virtually eliminates the possibility of over-or under-cooking food. The slow, controlled method of sous vide results in meats and vegetables that have a much more delicate texture than if being cooked at high temperatures.

Cooking Sous Vide covers the basics of how sous vide works, buying the right equipment, how to season sous vide foods, and how to cook sous vide safely, while achieving optimum results. Over 70 recipes, with beautiful color photography, are featured throughout.

A Day at elBulli, Classic Edition is an exclusive look behind the scenes at elBulli, voted 'Best Restaurant in the World' and into the mind of Ferran Adrià, the most creative chef working today.

With two million requests for reservations every year, elBulli was notoriously difficult to get a table at. A Day at elBulli, Classic Edition opens the doors to everyone and reveals the inner workings of the kitchen and the gastronomic innovations that have helped create the spectacular food. Illustrated with over 1,000 colour photographs, the book includes recipes and innovative inserts explaining the creative methods and food philosophy, the reservations policy, the history of elBulli and the life of Ferran Adrià.

Aimed at all food enthusiasts as well as industry professionals, the book starts with daybreak at 6.15 am, then shows visits to the local markets to source ingredients, Ferran's arrival at the workshop, his morning creative experimentation session, the arrival of the rest of the brigade at 2.30 pm to begin the mise-en-place for the evening, the daily tasks of the front of house team, and the arrival of the first guests for dinner from 7.45 pm until the last guests' departure by 2.00 am.

With its innovative structure and striking design, A Day at elBulli provides a fascinating insight into the rare and magical experience of eating at elBulli.

In this beautiful book, a smaller format edition of the bestselling Big Fat Duck Cookbook, we hear the full story of the meteoric rise of Heston Blumenthal and The Fat Duck, birthplace of snail porridge and bacon-and-egg ice cream, and encounter the passion, perfection and weird science behind the man and the restaurant. Heston Blumenthal is widely acknowledged to be a genius, and The Fat Duck has twice been voted the Best Restaurant in the World by a peer group of top chefs. But he is entirely self-taught, and the story of his restaurant has broken every rule in the book. His success has been borne out of his pure obsession, endless invention and a childish curiosity into how things work - whether it's how smell affects taste, what different flavours mean to us on a biological level, or how temperature is distributed in the centre of a souffle. In the first section of The Fat Duck Cookbook, we learn the history of the restaurant, from its humble beginnings to its third Michelin star (the day Heston received the news of this he had been wondering how exactly he would be able to pay his staff that month). Next we meet 50 of his signature recipes - sardine on toast sorbet, salmon poached with liquorice, hot and iced tea, chocolate wine - which, while challenging for anyone not equipped with ice baths, dehydrators, vacuum pumps and nitrogen on tap, will inspire home cooks and chefs alike. Finally, we hear from the experts whose scientific know-how has contributed to Heston's topsy-turvy world, on subjects as diverse as synaesthesia, creaminess and flavour expectation. With an introduction by Harold McGee, incredible colour photographs throughout, illustrations by Dave McKean, The Fat Duck Cookbook is not only the nearest thing to an autobiography from the world's most fascinating chef, but also a stunning, colourful and joyous work of art.

Publication Date: 12 October 2015Ever wondered how to pan-fry a steak with a charred crust and an interior that's perfectly medium-rare from edge to edge when you cut into it? How to make homemade mac 'n' cheese that is as satisfyingly gooey and velvety-smooth as the blue box stuff, but far tastier? How to roast a succulent, moist turkey (forget about brining!)-and use a foolproof method that works every time? As Serious Eats's culinary nerd-in-residence, J. Kenji Lopez-Alt has pondered all these questions and more. In The Food Lab, Kenji focuses on the science behind beloved American dishes, delving into the interactions between heat, energy, and molecules that create great food. Kenji shows that often, conventional methods don't work that well, and home cooks can achieve far better results using new-but simple-techniques. In hundreds of easy-to-make recipes with over 1,000 full-color images, you will find out how to make foolproof Hollandaise sauce in just two minutes, how to transform one simple tomato sauce into a half dozen dishes, how to make the crispiest, creamiest potato casserole ever conceived, and much more.

Freakonomics for eating: a ground-breaking and tasty book by the world-leading expert in sensory science.Why do we consume 35% more food when eating with one more person, and 75% more when with three? Why are 27% of drinks bought on aeroplanes tomato juice? How are chefs and companies planning to transform our dining experiences, and what can we learn from their cutting-edge insights to make memorable meals at home? These are just some of the ingredients of Gastrophysics, in which the pioneering Oxford professor Charles Spence shows how our senses link up in the most extraordinary ways, and reveals the importance of all the 'off-the-plate' elements of a meal- the weight of cutlery, the placing on the plate, the background music and much more. Whether dining alone or at a dinner party, on a plane or in front of the TV, he reveals how to understand what we're tasting and influence what others experience. Mealtimes will genuinely never be the same again.

Eating is a multisensory experience, yet chefs and scientists have only recently begun to deconstruct food's components, setting the stage for science-based cooking. In this global collaboration of essays, chefs and scientists advance culinary knowledge by testing hypotheses rooted in the physical and chemical properties of food. Using traditional and cutting-edge tools, ingredients, and techniques, these pioneers create, and sometimes revamp, dishes that respond to specific desires and serve up an original encounter with gastronomic practice. From the seemingly mundane to the food fantastic -- from grilled cheese sandwiches, pizzas, and soft-boiled eggs to Turkish ice cream, sugar glasses, and jellified beads -- the essays in The Kitchen as Laboratory cover a range of creations and their history and culture. They consider the significance of an eater's background and dining atmosphere and the importance of a chef's methods, as well as the strategies used to create a great diversity of foods and dishes. This collection will delight experts and amateurs alike, especially as restaurants rely more on science-based cooking and recreational cooks increasingly explore the physics and chemistry behind their art. Contributors end each essay with their personal thoughts on food, cooking, and science, offering rare insight into a professional's passion for playing with food.

An international celebrity and founder of molecular gastronomy, or the scientific investigation of culinary practice, Herv& eacute; This is known for his ground-breaking research into the chemistry and physics behind everyday cooking. His work is consulted widely by amateur cooks and professional chefs and has changed the way food is approached and prepared all over the world. In Kitchen Mysteries, Herve This offers a second helping of his world-renowned insight into the science of cooking, answering such fundamental questions as what causes vegetables to change color when cooked and how to keep a souffl& eacute; from falling. He illuminates abstract concepts with practical advice and concrete examples& mdash;for instance, how saut& eacute;ing in butter chemically alters the molecules of mushrooms& mdash;so that cooks of every stripe can thoroughly comprehend the scientific principles of food. Kitchen Mysteries begins with a brief overview of molecular gastronomy and the importance of understanding the physiology of taste. A successful meal depends as much on a cook's skilled orchestration of taste, odors, colors, consistencies, and other sensations as on the delicate balance of ingredients. Herv& eacute; then dives into the main course, discussing the science behind many meals' basic components: eggs, milk, bread, sugar, fruit, yogurt, alcohol, and cheese, among other items. He also unravels the mystery of tenderizing enzymes and gelatins and the preparation of soups and stews, salads and sauces, sorbet, cakes, and pastries. Herv& eacute; explores the effects of boiling, steaming, braising, roasting, deep-frying, saut& eacute;ing, grilling, salting, and microwaving, and devotes a chapter to kitchen utensils, recommending the best way to refurbish silverware and use copper.By sharing the empirical principles chefs have valued for generations, Herv& eacute; This adds another dimension to the suggestions of cookbook authors. He shows how to adapt recipes to available ingredients and how to modify proposed methods to the utensils at hand. His revelations make difficult recipes easier to attempt and allow for even more creativity and experimentation. Promising to answer your most compelling kitchen questions, Herv& eacute This continues to make the complex science of food digestible to the cook.

Chefs swear by sous vide as the ultimate way to achieve perfectly cooked and flavorful foods. Justice Stewart has become a specialist with the sous vide technique and creates restaurant-quality dishes with texture and flavor that couldn't be replicated until now—and the secret is it's not that hard.

Justice's techniques are just as applicable for the home chef. You'll learn how incredible one bag meals can be, from determining time and temperature controls, to seasonings and how to properly seal your food to achieve jaw-dropping, perfectly cooked meals. Your food will be cooked to perfection and infused with so much flavor, your family and friends will be amazed. There's more than just steaks to be cooked sous vide—learn to cook poultry, pork, ground meats, eggs, fish, shellfish, fruits and vegetables and more. Recipes include Madras Curry Chicken, Crab Cakes with Poached Eggs and Saffron Hollandaise, Marinated Leg of Lamb with Norwegian Brown Sauce, Butter Poached Lobster in Herbed Cream Sauce and Duck Breast with Pomegranate Dressing.